


Our Fates

by Wizzy



Series: The Way Of Fate [3]
Category: Corpse Party (Video Game)
Genre: Fate, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-29
Updated: 2015-10-22
Packaged: 2018-04-23 23:45:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4896871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wizzy/pseuds/Wizzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xiao's story continues. She has pretended that the events in Heavenly Host never happened, but when she meets Tomohiro, everything changes. They want to change things, but how can they do that? It's not like they can bring back those that were lost in Heavenly Host, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What Will Our Fates Be?

Xiao may have escaped Heavenly Host, but she'll never forget what happened there. Who could forget someone who regarded her as his big sister and protected her without hesitation?

Tomohiro barely managed to escape with his life, but he feels like he shouldn't have survived. After all, one life was sacrificed to save his from Kizami's bloody knife. No matter what he says, no one believes anything he says about the haunted school. 

Shiro protects his sister from the truth of that haunted school. Whenever she asks, he tells her it was only a dream. Tsubaki trusts her brother, but even she can tell that he's hiding something. Can she really believe that Rina and Mr Taguchi were only part of a dream? And what of the boy that they rescued? How could something that felt so real possibly have been just a dream?

So when Xiao learns that the new transfer student Tomohiro Ohkawa may have been in Heavenly Host just like she was, she finds herself drawn to him. Tomohiro on the other hand merely wants to forget everything about it. No matter how she tries, he has put up a barrier between them. Can Xiao get past the barrier and reach him when no one else can even get him to say anything at all? And when their paths cross with the twin children who helped save his life, can Shiro still keep the truth from Tsubaki?


	2. The Boy Who Doesn't Speak

The teacher was going on and on about something, but I wasn't paying any attention. Ever since Little Brother had gotten me out of Heavenly Host, going back to a normal life was difficult. In that place, I'd lost my only friend. But in the end, I'd gained a brother who had to stay behind.

As he continued on and on, I picked up on some girls talking. “I heard that he claimed he'd been in some haunted school and his friends were all murdered,” one of the girls was saying. Normally I'd pay no attention, but two things caught my attention. Haunted school? Friends murdered? It sounded awful close to Heavenly Host. But who was this person they were talking about?

“That's messed up. I bet he's just one of those crazy people who make up all that sick stuff.”

“Yeah. They're saying his parents made him transfer from his other school because he kept talking about it.” Transferred from another school? That at least narrowed it down to one person.

I glanced over to the corner of the room. Sitting there was a boy with curly brown hair, just staring out the window. His face looked emotionless and blank. He'd transferred a couple weeks after I'd escaped Heavenly Host. Of course, I hadn't really talked to him at all. Actually, I'd hardly noticed him at all until now.

While I was lost in thought, something hard hit me in the head. I turned to find the teacher giving me an irritated stare. On my desk was one of the erasers for the board. “You better start paying attention from now on, Miss Seramura,” he told me as I tossed the eraser back to him. I shouldn't have been surprised that he'd thrown it at me. “If you had been paying attention, you would know that I was telling what groups you'll be in for the upcoming trip. You have not been assigned yet.”

“Sorry Mr Tanashisu,” I apologized. All the students were supposed to sign up with their groups and I... well I simply didn't bother to. I didn't care who I ended up with, so I didn't think it mattered.

“Now, since you seem to suddenly be so fascinated by our transfer student Mr Ohkawa, perhaps you would like the task of keeping an eye on him during the trip?” So I had been caught staring at the newbie. That couldn't be good for my reputation. By “keeping an eye on,” Tanashisu really meant “babysitting.” We all knew why: the newbie didn't seem to be “all there” and it was better not to let him be alone. His parents had even said that to the school when he'd first started here. He was most definitely harmless though.

“Yes sir.” No use arguing against it. I wasn't assigned to any group yet, so I'd be stuck with him anyway. Besides, this may be my chance to find out if my suspicions about the haunted school that he had supposedly talked about was the same Heavenly Host Elementary that I'd nearly died in. I couldn't just bring it up with others around though, for obvious reasons.

 

After Tanashisu had everyone assigned, he gave us the rest of the class time off. So most of the other students talked among themselves. I, on the other hand, decided to use this to find out more about the transfer student that I would be babysitting on the trip. He, however, decided he wanted to go for a walk outside the school since it was the end of the day anyway.

“Hey! Ohkawa! Wait up!” I shouted after him. We were outside now. When he heard my voice calling out to him, he stopped and gave me a confused look. When I'd finally caught up to him, he merely tilted his head like Little Brother used to. “I just wanted to talk with you.”

That statement seemed to confuse him more. Apparently people never really wanted to talk to him. “Is it okay if we talk?” I asked and he merely nodded. Looks like I'll be doing the talking. “You're probably not going to talk, are you?” He shook his head. “But you'll listen and respond to me, right?” He nodded again.

“Well, first off, what is your first name? Tanashisu kinda stuck us together, so it may be important to know.” He was silent a moment. “That came out bad... I don't mean that I was stuck with you... Tanashisu just figured I'd be the best person to be paired with you... There's really no nice way to put it... But I really would like to talk with you... Maybe even be your friend.” Geez, I sounded like Sumiko did when I first met her.

I tried to give him a friendly smile, but I was never really a friendly kind of person. He was quiet a little while longer. Just as I was about to give up, he spoke. “Tomohiro.” It was just one little word, but it was at least something.

“Tomohiro... that's a nice name,” I said, reminded of when I'd first met Ryou. Today was just full of memories. “Is it okay for me to call you by your first name? I think it sounds better than your last name.” He just nodded as the two of us continued walking side by side.

As we walked, I asked questions and he would answer. He didn't say a word, but he still managed to answer me. Overall, I learned that he had a sister, liked video games, never had a girlfriend, and he was pretty shy back at his old school. Oh and he liked the color blue. Figuring that out took a lot of guessing.

“So, what was your old school called?” I was hoping to get him to say something again. However, all that really seemed to happen was him stopping. I stopped next to him to figure out why. “Too soon to ask about that?” He hesitated a moment before nodding. “I'm sorry. I was just curious. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't make you. If you'd rather, I can tell you about me instead. You seem like you're tired of answering questions.”

He smiled and nodded. So I began telling him about myself. I'd asked so much about him, so it was only fair that I tell him about me. “I'm not the best with people. If it weren't for Sumiko, I probably wouldn't be talking with you right now. She used to be my friend, but she... well, you want the truth?” Tomohiro tilted his head to the side in confusion before nodding.

“Alright, don't you go telling anybody or they'll think I'm as insane as they think you are,” I joked, earning me a small, silent chuckle from the quiet boy. “Sumiko was a really good friend of mine. My only friend, really. She... she's dead now... In a way, it was partly my fault. The second we'd gotten separated, I should have went looking for her. I'm a horrible friend. I was even mean to her right before that.”

My voice must have sounded sadder to him than it did to me because I soon felt his hand on my shoulder.  _It's not your fault,_ it seemed to say. “What's even worse, no one but me even remembers that she even existed.” That seemed to catch his attention. “Not even her parents remember her. It's almost like she never existed. It makes me feel like Little Brother should have just let me die in that place...”

Tomohiro's hand was still on my shoulder. His grip tightened a bit, almost like he wanted to ask something. Then it hit me that I'd mentioned the haunted school. I may not have said what it was, but something about what I'd said sounded familiar to him. “It's nothing,” I reassured him. Placing my hand on his that was still on my shoulder, I tried to give a smile. “Maybe sometime the two of us can talk about it when we're both ready to.”

The rest of the walk was fairly quiet. Occasionally I'd ask a simple question and Tomohiro would answer. Sometimes after it he would point to me as his way of asking me the same.

When he finally stopped, I turned to ask why. As an answer, he pointed to the house near us. “This is your house?” He nodded. Looking closer, I realized that I'd seen this house every day because I lived just a couple houses down from it. “Wow. I feel really dumb.” And again he tilted his head. I had to admit, that was adorable. It reminded me so much of Little Brother. “I live over there.” As I spoke, I pointed in the direction of my home. That earn me another silent laugh.

As he began walking into his house, an idea came to me. “Hey, Tomohiro!” He stopped as I shouted after him. Glancing back at me, he waited for me to say what I wanted to say. “Would you like to walk with me to school tomorrow?” Tomohiro responded with a smile and a small nod before waving goodbye and disappearing into the house. Maybe I'll get him to really talk eventually.


	3. Little Brother's Grave

About two weeks after our first conversation, it was time for the trip. Tomohiro Ohkawa and I ended up being grouped with the two girls I'd heard talking about him. A bit ironic if you think about it. During the trip, we had two hours of free time.

We were supposed to stick with our groups, but there was somewhere very important I had to go. The two girls had no interest in it, so the two took off on their own. That left me with the boy who didn't speak.

I didn't really mind, since the only one who could possibly understand was Tomohiro anyway. Until this point, I'd only ever mentioned Little Brother briefly. I'd never gone into details or even called him by his real name. But even so, Tomohiro had willingly agreed to come here with me today.

It's been three months since the two of us had said goodbye. No one even knew who Sumiko was, and the only thing that made me sure that what happened in Heavenly Host was real was my sprained ankle that I'd returned with.

I'd been wanting to come here for awhile now, though locating this particular place took quite a bit longer than I had anticipated. As I walked among the many tombstones with my newly made friend, I finally found the one I had been searching for.

“Here it is, Tomohiro,” I told him. He didn't say much anymore, but rumors said that he'd once talked of a haunted school where his friends were all killed. What caught my attention was the fact that no one had ever heard of these friends.

 _Ryou Yoshizawa, died age 8,_ the tombstone said. It had taken awhile to find this place, but it was worth it. Placing some flowers at the foot of it, I knelt next to his grave and Tomohiro did the same.

Even though I knew that it was pointless talking to a tombstone, I didn't care. “I miss you little brother,” I said, talking to no one in particular. As I thought back to the moments we'd shared, I could have sworn I'd heard his voice calling me.

_Sing for me, Sister?_

Whether it was just my imagination or not, I didn't care. I sang that song anyway. It had been our little song, the one little piece that had brought us together in the first place. Remembering it gave me some comfort.

_Rest my little one_

_The day is done, it's time to go_

_Let your dreams take you far away_

_Rest my dear until the dawn_

_Don't be afraid of the darkness_

_I'll never let it harm you_

_My arms will shelter you from the cold night's wind_

_I'll be here, my little one_

_Staying by your side_

_Until the morning arise_

As I sang the words, I felt Tomohiro's hand rest on my shoulder. Even if he didn't say much, he still understood. This was someone very important to me and this song connected us. He never even considered that this boy had actually died long before I'd been born, meaning that it was impossible to have actually known him.

“I love you, little brother,” I whispered, lightly brushing my fingers against the cold stone. I wished that I could see him again, even for just a moment. But I knew the only way that was possible would be for me to go back to that haunted school and Ryou had begged me to never go back there. “Come on, Tomohiro. We better be getting back.”

As the two of us stood up and turned to leave, I heard the voice again. It was just a couple words, but it was enough to bring a smile to my face as I held onto my dear friend's hand, leading him out of the quiet little cemetery.

_I love you, Sister._

“Hey, Tomohiro?” He looked at me as I asked the question. “Everyone else says you used to talk about a haunted school, is that true?”

He immediately stopped walking. I really wanted to tell him that I believed him, but he would only think I was making fun of him. After a minute, I still had no answer. “I... I'm sorry... Thinking about Ryou just made me think of that awful place and how he and Sumiko were killed and I just...” I couldn't even finish what I was trying to say. Actually, I didn't even know what I was trying to say. All I knew was that my emotions were getting the best of me.

Looking down at the ground, I could feeling a stinging in my eyes. It's been so long, I can't even remember the last time I cried. That's pretty sad considering all that's happened...

Hands placed themselves on my shoulders, surprising me. Lifting my head up a little, I saw Tomohiro's concerned face looking back at me. One hand left my shoulder to brush a tear from my eye. “Don't cry... It's alright...” He actually spoke to me. The boy who never speaks actually said something to me. Maybe I could get through his barrier after all.


	4. Breaking The Barrier

Despite everything that I'd heard others say about him, Tomohiro was a very kind person. While I'd let myself cry, he simply gave me a comforting hug and allowed me to let it all out. Even he knew that if I was showing this much emotion, it meant something big was bothering me. I'm sure that even he could tell that there wasn't anything else that he could to help.

When I'd regained control of myself, I figured I probably owed him some sort of explanation. “Sumiko and I did a special charm and found ourselves in a school that looked like a haunted house. She told me that she'd been there before and it had caused her to lose her memories. Shortly after, we got separated and only I made it out. Even then, I'd never have survived if it hadn't been for Ryou.”

As I talked, he listened quietly. The story seemed to sound familiar to him. Maybe my theory that he'd been in that same haunted school was correct. Of course, it seemed as if I'd never get him to talk about it, so confirming that without asking him directly would be quite a hassle.

After returning to the main group, Tanashisu informed me that for not keeping with my group, each of us would get a detention after we returned to school. Sure, that would be a couple days from now, but it still sucked. Off to the side, he added something just to me and Tomohiro. “No matter how much I may like you and no matter how different his situation is, I can't give you special treatment. It wouldn't be fair to the others.”

I was content to leave it alone and just deal with it. Tanashisu may seem like he doesn't like me at times, but that's his way of showing that he cares. He was the closest thing I had to a friend.

“It's not fair to give her a detention just because the two ditched her because she wanted to visit the grave of someone very dear to her.” The voice that spoke was one that none of us were familiar with. But there was only one person it could have been and everyone who'd heard it was very surprised. “It's not right to punish her for-”

I didn't let him finish that sentence. Placing my hand on his arm, I smiled up at him. “It's alright. If a detention is the price I have to pay for visiting Little Brother's grave, then it's worth it. Tanashisu's detentions are never that bad anyway,” I told him and Tomohiro stopping talking. He didn't speak again the rest of the day.

That night, as everyone was headed to their rooms, I noticed that they'd stuck me with Tomohiro. Normally they wouldn't have put a guy and a girl in the same room, but it was easier than doing three in a room. And with the way the two of us were, it was near impossible that anything funny would happen. Besides, none of the other students wanted to be around either of us, especially Tomohiro.

I didn't really mind it though. Of everyone, I'd rather be stuck with him than any of those snobby girls.

 

_(Tomohiro's POV)_

While Xiao was turned the other way, I took advantage of the moment to take off the upper half of my uniform. I looked up to make sure her back was still to me and was surprised to see Xiao staring at me. Slightly embarrassed, I quickly turned around and slipped my t-shirt on. But I wasn't quite quick enough.

By the time I turned back around, she was right there. I tried to walk away, but she just grabbed my arm and turned me to face her. Grabbing the bottom of my shirt and lift it up a bit, she traced her fingers over a certain spot on my stomach. I could feel my skin tingling as she traced her thumb over it.

I hadn't been fast enough to keep it hidden. That had been the one thing I'd been concerned about. I didn't want her to see it; I didn't want anyone to see. It was a reminder of the things that had happened in Heavenly Host; a reminder of the friends I'd lost and the girl who'd given up her life to save mine.

 

_(Xiao's POV)_

A scar. Where did it come from? As I traced my fingers over it, Tomohiro grabbed my hand and pulled it away. I didn't even consider that he might be self-conscious about it. As he tried to walk away again, I grabbed his arm. “How did it happen?” He didn't answer, just pushed my hand off of him.

I wasn't going to give up that easy. “It has to do with that haunted school, doesn't it?” This time when I grabbed his arm, he turned and faced me. The look on his face wasn't what I expected.

Instead of angry, it was more of a how-did-you-know-that kind of look. “You can trust me. You can't just keep it all inside forever. If it's hurting you, then let it out,” I said, trying to be calm and convince him that it was okay to talk to me.

“You'd never believe me.”

“You don't know that. For all you know, I could have gone through the same thing,” I pointed out. Tomohiro was quiet as he pulled his arm out of my grip yet again before sitting down on one of the beds. He hadn't said he wasn't going to tell me, so I sat next to him and waited for him to speak.

“Eight of my classmates and I were trapped inside a haunted school,” he began. This was hard for him to talk about, but it was something he needed to do. “One of those was a friend that I had been really close to since we were kids. Ryosuke... he didn't deserve to suffer like he did. To die really painfully and then be thrown down the stairs... He didn't deserve to go through that... After that, we all got separated from each other.”

I had to forcibly stop myself from saying anything. “I was able to survive alright on my own, even though I'd hurt my arm pretty badly from falling down the stairs. But when I ran into a little kid, things got difficult.” I almost wondered if the kid had been Ryou, but he would have said it was a ghost if it had been. “She was too young to have been all alone in that place, so I couldn't just leave her. That's when Kizami showed up.”

“Who is Kizami?” I wonder if maybe I'd run into him at some point. There had been that one psycho guy I didn't know the name of and then there was the wuss in the red jacket. “I was just wondering if maybe I've met him.”

“It's not possible. You would have forgotten him anyway unless-” Then it hit him. I'd been wondering how long it would take him to realize that I had been there too. “You... you were there, weren't you?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I shouldn't be alive right now, but I made it out of that place alive. You had it much tougher than I did though.”

“I think the girl who saved my life had it even worse... I don't think she even made it out of there...” As Tomohiro talked about this mystery girl, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She must have had a pretty rough time in that place. “When Kizami attacked me, she stepped in and kept him busy while these two kids did the charm to let us escape. In the end, she lost her eye and probably ended up being killed. I think... she knew long before that she wouldn't be able to get out, otherwise she wouldn't have given up her chance to get out so easily.”

I didn't know what to say to that. The scar must have been from this Kizami guy. Having it there must be a constant reminder to him about the hell he'd went through. Not only that, but also a reminder of someone who had sacrificed their own life to protect him. Whether she had known him or not hadn't mattered to her. But if she'd known she couldn't escape, why go so far to save a complete stranger?

“Well, there's no use dwelling on the past,” I told him, trying to break past this incredibly depressing subject. “Unless you are learning from a mistake, the past will only cause you pain. That's what my grandfather used to tell me.”

Tomohiro just shrugged and looked off at nothing.  _Guess that him staying like this was too much to hope for._  It was a lot more irritating to me than it should have been. I shouldn't have cared if he went back to being quiet. Acting on impulse for the first time since... well... ever, I grabbed him roughly and forced him to look at me. “You can't just shut everyone out! No one knows better than I do how it feels to be alone! It's awful and you should be enjoying your life instead of this! You're just wasting your life and that girl who died for you would be very hurt to know that you're acting this way!”

Finally regaining my composure, I released him. He didn't say a word, so I merely laid back across the foot of the bed. I even turned away from him until I felt Tomohiro flop down on the bed too, just a couple feet away from me.

“You can be a real pain in the ass,” he told me.

“Always have been; always will be,” I informed him. “Better get used to it.”


	5. Tomohiro's Dream

_(Tomohiro's POV)_

I watched Xiao a moment before grabbing her and holding her to my chest. Without even giving her a chance to react, I impulsively pushed my lips onto hers. Even though I'd never done this, I felt like I'd done this a thousand times before.

 _What am I doing?_ I kept thinking that as she kissed me back. It really wasn't like me to act like this, but right now I didn't really care. The longer this seemed to go on, the more I wanted to go farther.

 _Why am I- wait... why is my shirt gone?_ Before I'd even had time to realize it, my shirt was off. Had Xiao done that or was I too distracted to even know I was doing it? Her hands were all over me, so it was hard to tell. Either way I guess it didn't matter.

Before I knew it, all of our clothing was gone. It was like it had magically disappeared... Wait... Was this even real? All of this... this is a dream. Xiao would never actually be doing this with me.

 

I sat up on the bed quickly. My heart was racing like I'd just woken up from a nightmare. “Where did THAT come from?” I whispered to myself. Glancing over, Xiao was fast asleep across the foot of the bed. I was a bit relieved about that. That sure was a weird dream. Though I have to wonder, would I ever feel like that about her? To be honest, I kind of hoped not.

 _That kiss did feel really good in the dream though._ As I thought more about the dream, I glanced over at my sleeping friend. _I wonder... is that how it really feels?_  If I were to try it while she was sleeping, would she wake up? If she caught me, she'd probably punch me. At least, she seemed the type to react violently to anything that happens that she didn't want.

 _It's just the dream messing with your head._ That's what I told myself anyway. There was no way it meant anything.  _Xiao was just laying close to me and my brain just made the connection between the two on instinct. The only reason I had it was because of how close she is right now and because of how we were talking before I fell asleep._

Noticing that her legs were hanging off the edge, I gave her a nudge to see if she would wake up. When she didn't, I decided to move her up and lay her in the bed properly. She was a little heavy for me, but I wasn't very strong in the first place.

After she was in bed, I covered her with the blanket. She was still wearing her uniform from earlier, but I didn't want to try to change her out of it. With the two of us being put together in a room like we were, me being a guy and her being a girl, I wouldn't be surprised if someone checked in on us at random to make sure nothing funny was going on. If someone just happened to come in while I was doing that... yeah, I really shouldn't have to explain how bad that would look... Since I defended her the way I did earlier, everyone probably assumed a lot more was going on than there really was anyway.

Of course, even if no one saw it, there could still be issues. Mainly the fact that she might try to kill me if she were to wake up. Even if I'd really only known her a couple weeks now, I wasn't as stupid as everyone seemed to think I was. I knew how she was. Xiao had a reputation for being fairly cold towards people, even her own friends. I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to kill me for even thinking about what happened in that dream.

Realizing that I shouldn't even be thinking like this right now, I pushed all thoughts of her out of my head.  _There's no reason to be thinking of her at all._ That was what I told myself anyway. Taking one more look at her, I brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. She seemed so different in her sleep.

After having noticed she was still in her school uniform, I realized that I never finished changing earlier. Wandering over to my bag, I pulled out a pair of pants to change into. I know from experience that sleeping in my uniform was not comfortable at all. Just as I'd gotten them off and the new pair halfway on, the door to our room opened.

This is the exact reason I wasn't going to mess with Xiao. Luckily, it was only Mr Tanashisu. From what I'd observed, he was quite fond of Xiao and treated her almost like a little sister. Hopefully he knew enough not to assume anything was going on. Before he turned around to leave, I quietly called out to him. “Mr Tanashisu? Could I talk to you a minute?”


	6. Talking To Tanashisu

 Before he turned around to leave, I quietly called out to him. “Mr Tanashisu? Could I talk to you a minute?”

He nodded and glanced over at Xiao asleep on her bed before motioning for me to follow him into the hallway. Once we were there, he let me ask what I wanted to know.

“I was wondering, do dreams ever really mean anything?”

The question seemed to surprise him a little. I'd really only asked because I was a bit troubled by the one I'd just had about Xiao. “That's a very serious question for so late at night,” he observed, not quite giving me any sort of answer. “I assume there's a reason you're asking?”

I'd been hoping to avoid explaining it. “I just had a dream that has been bothering me,” I admitted, avoiding saying just what the dream had been about.

“I think of dreams as telling us things that we don't know about yet or they're just memories replaying in our minds. Of course, sometimes they're just showing us our fears or they're completely made of random nonsense.” Okay, really not an answer at all.

His explanation was even more confusing to me than the dream had been. Noticing this, Tanashisu asked a question. “Was it a dream of Heavenly Host Elementary?”

Just the mention of that place sent a chill down my spine. In all the times I'd talked about that place, not once did I ever say the name of it. So just how did he know that name? “No... it was something else...But how do you know about that place?” I couldn't stop myself from asking the question. There was no way Xiao would have told him. In fact, I doubt she ever mentioned it to anyone.

He thought quietly a moment before deciding to tell me what I assumed he'd kept secret until now. “You must know that you weren't the only one to have survived that place. I was in there once myself. That is how I know that both you and Xiao were in there.”

So the haunted school she mentioned was the same one where I'd lost all of my friends. But just how did him being a survivor of that place make it so he knew that we'd been there too? Obviously he hadn't been there with Xiao and he hadn't even met me until I'd transferred here. So how could he possibly know?

Sensing my confusion, he decided to answer me before I could even ask. “Those who survive Heavenly Host always remember those who were in there. Everyone but the survivors forget that those who went in with the survivors ever existed. I knew about Xiao because of her friend Sumiko. Sumiko had been in there once before Xiao knew her and it caused her to lose her memory. The two girls went in there together, but only Xiao survived. I'm not sure how, but she made it out alone.”

He was quiet awhile before explaining how he knew about me. “At first, I wasn't sure about you,” he admitted, glancing down the hallway a moment. “I'm not supposed to say anything, but because of your situation and the way you were supposedly claiming to have been in a haunted school and all your friends were murdered, none of the teachers wanted you in their class. They believed that you were delusional and were worried when I volunteered to take you into my class. Since I have Xiao and she has quite the reputation, they allowed it. In fact, it was because I suspected that haunted school was Heavenly Host that I wanted to have you in my class. It was my hope that you and Xiao might be able to help each other to get past your experiences in that place.”

That would explain why he'd stuck the two of us together for this trip. Though this was very far from my original question. We'd gone from the subject of dreams to talking about a place that no one believed really existed. It was a pretty large jump for having only been maybe twenty minutes or so.

“You weren't trying to set us up or anything, were you?” I asked very carefully. The way he was talking, it almost made it seem that way. But I doubt Tanashisu was that type of person.

“Of course not.” His voice had gotten a bit defensive after that question. It was hard not to laugh at it. He reminded me of Masato. They both had that fairly serious personality, though Tanashisu actually would lighten up a bit more. That reminded me of Kurosaki. Thinking about those two only made me remember everyone I'd known that had been in Heavenly Host.

“My younger brother and sister were there too,” he added after a few minutes of silence. “They're twins. Shiro told me all about what happened to them. I'd told him to pretend it never happened to protect Tsubaki. She was always much too innocent to have gone through all of that.”

Shiro and Tsubaki... those names sounded familiar. Then I remembered why. When I'd been attacked by Kizami, the girl who had kept him busy had called the boy who was busy helping me Shiro. Then after we were out, that boy had called the little girl Tsubaki. I may have been a panicky mess through most of it, but that didn't mean I couldn't remember it. Who could ever forget something like that?

His next words confirmed my suspicions that the two that had helped save my life were the siblings that he mentioned. “It happened around the same time as your injury.”

As Tanashisu started to walk away, my original question came back to mind. So I asked him about dreams again, hoping that I'd get a real answer. “It was a dream about Xiao,” I added, thinking that maybe it could help more if he knew that much.

“It's likely only the result of you having gotten closer to her over the last couple weeks,” Tanashisu said after thinking it over. “I wouldn't let it bother you.” He started walking away again, but stopped a second to say one last thing. “If you are interested, there's a friend of mine who might be able to help you if you ever need it. She's quite talented when it comes to ghosts and occult things such as Heavenly Host. Maybe she could help you with your dream issue too if you keep having that dream.”


	7. The Tanashisu Twins

_(Shiro's POV)_

Trying to convince yourself that something never happened is always a lot harder than trying to convince someone else. Being the older twin, as well as the mature one, I'd made it my duty to protect my sister from what happened in that creepy school.

In that place, we'd lost several of our classmates and Tsubaki's friends. One of my friends, my only real friend, was lost in that place too. Not to mention I almost lost my twin sister as well.

“Was it really just a dream, Shiro?” Tsubaki still doubted that what happened there was just a nightmare. Since we'd escaped without any injury, they was no way to prove it even happened. No way other than the few things of Rina's that we'd brought back with us, anyway. But I had taken great care in hiding them, so Tsubaki would never know the truth.

“Of course it was,” I insisted. Lying wasn't something I liked doing, but this was one of those times when it was necessary. “None of that stuff could really happen.”

“But what about that boy who was really hurt? The one Rina wanted us to help?”

I had almost forgotten about him. If it hadn't been for that guy, Rina would still be alive. She might have even escaped with us. “He was part of the dream too. He didn't even have a name, right?” She just nodded. “So he couldn't be real. If he was real then he-”

I cut myself off when I saw two figures up ahead, one of which was very familiar. It was the same boy that I was just saying didn't exist. Tsubaki couldn't see him. If she were to recognize him... I don't even want to know how she'll react if she found out that I'd been lying to her.

“Hey Tsubaki, isn't today the day Katashi's class is supposed to be visiting around here?” I grabbed her hand and pulled her off in another direction, hoping she hadn't noticed that boy or the very sudden change of conversation. “Let's go see if we can find him.”

Katashi was our older brother. But he was one of those fun older siblings instead of the ones that are constantly yelling at you even if you didn't do anything. In fact, he was actually a teacher now. His students have always loved him and only one had ever given him any trouble. Or so I'd heard, anyway.

“But those two people are wearing his school's uniform! Let's just ask them where he is.” Tsubaki was pointing off in the direction of the person I had hope she wouldn't see.

Before I even had a chance to protest, my twin was racing towards the pair that she'd been pointing. Half of that pair was the one who might just ruin everything. “Tsubaki!”

By the time I'd caught up with her, she was standing right in front of them. The boy we'd rescued was standing there just staring down at Tsubaki. There was no doubt about it, he recognized her. The girl with him looked familiar, but she didn't seem to recognize us.

When Tsubaki spoke, I felt my heart sink. “I know you,” she said, not even taking her eyes off of the stranger. “You're the one Rina saved from the crazy man.”

“Tsubaki, let's go,” I said, pulling on her arm. She can't know. Tsubaki can't know that I lied about all of that being just a bad dream. Just like she can't know that I still have nightmares about that place. “We have to go find Katashi.”

As I tried to drag her away, she pushed me back. “You said it was just a bad dream! You lied, Shiro!”

I couldn't move. Tsubaki never yelled at me. She never pushed me. Not once had she ever questioned the things I told her. But now... it was like she hated me. And just that thought was enough to make everything inside just burst.

“This is all your fault!” I shouted at the boy whose name I didn't even know. “If it weren't for you then Rina wouldn't have had to fight that psycho! It should have been you that stayed trapped in that creepy place forever!” Everything... everything was all because of him.

My body was shaking with anger. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to feel what Rina had. “I knew she might not be able to get out at all, but if she hadn't helped you then she would have at least had a chance! It's all your fault that I lost her! Rina died because of you!” My eyes were burning. Angry tears were starting to spill out. “Even after hiding us from all those ghosts and risking her life to protect us and Mr Taguchi from that big monster... After surviving all that, she had to die saving a wuss like you!”

His fault... this was all because of him. This pathetic excuse for a man was the reason I'd lost the one friend I had. “I hate you!”


	8. Time For Answers

_(Xiao's POV)_

After the kid finished his rant, I had no idea how to react. The little girl, who I'd guess was either a sister or a close friend of the crying boy, just stood there staring at Tomohiro. Tomohiro just stood frozen in place, his gaze darting back and forth between the two children.

“Care to explain?” I asked, hoping to pull him out of his daze. “I think I'm a little out of the loop.”

“I'd like to hear this explanation as well, seeing as you've made my little brother cry,” said a familiar voice from behind Tomohiro and myself. I looked over my shoulder to find our teacher standing there with his arms folded across his chest and a slightly annoyed expression on his face. I knew that look all too well; it was the look he always had before scolding me. “Xiao, what did you do this time?”

I was crushed. “I didn't do anything, Tanashisu!” I insisted. “You know I'd never hurt a kid! These two just showed up out of nowhere and the girl started yelling at the boy and then he got really mad and started yelling at Tomohiro, saying that that it was all Tomohiro's fault that something happened to some girl!” As I quickly explained the basics of what I'd been able to understand, Tanashisu started to look like he understood exactly what was going on.

“Shiro, I think you need to explain exactly what happened in Heavenly Host.” Everyone but Tomohiro went wide eyed at the mention of that cursed place. The fact that anyone knew about that place was a major shock. I mean, there's no way anyone could know about it, unless... Unless that person had been there themselves.

 

_(Katashi Tanashisu's POV)_

Upon seeing such confused looks on Xiao's and the twins' faces, I decided that I should explain everything. “All five of us have been in that cursed school,” I began, not entirely sure where to start. “Tomohiro, you survived because of someone else who was determined to save everyone she was able to. This girl's name was Rina Mitsuga.”

“That same girl had gone to great lengths to protect Shiro and Tsubaki Tanashisu, my twin siblings.” As I mentioned the twins, I gestured towards them. “That girl never made it out, so it's safe to assume that she was killed.”

“It was Kizami,” Tomohiro said in shaky voice. “Yuuya Kizami murdered her and probably a lot of others as well.”

“As for Xiao, I know nothing about it outside of the fact that she went in with Sumiko Kurosawa and came out alone.” I couldn't help but notice Xiao flinch at the mention of her deceased friend.

“I... I survived because I befriended a ghost child that controlled part of that school.” Her voice was quiet and sad. It was noticeably different than normal. “He thought that I was his sister, so he protected me, even from Sachiko herself.”

Once everyone's stories had been told, it was my turn to tell mine. As I told my tale, the memories flashed through my mind. Each of my friends' voices echoed through my head for ten millionth time since that day.

“ _Hey Katashi, come try out this charm that Mika and Kaito found!”_

“ _Come on, Tanashisu!”_

“ _It'll be fun, I promise!”_

Eight of us went in; two of us came out. The girl I'd loved... she was among the ones to be killed. Had I not found her body early on, I'd probably have kept searching for her until I joined her in the afterlife. The memories were painful to remember. It hurt even more to remember how it felt when we had learned that no one knew anyone who hadn't escaped.

“ _They'd never believe us if we told them what happened,” I remembered the other survivor telling me. I'd barely known the girl before, but soon we'd grow to be friends; all because we were the only ones who could understand what the other had gone through._

After I'd explained everything, Xiao and Tomohiro walked off on their own. He looked quite tired, which really wasn't much of a surprise. I doubted he'd gotten much sleep the night before after we'd had our little discussion about dreams and about Heavenly Host. Not to mention the two of them had had a busy day.

“Katashi,” said little Tsubaki, tugging at my sleeve. “Are you sad about your friends?”

I tried my best to give her a smile. It was sweet of her to worry, but I was an adult now. There was no time for me to be dwelling on the past. It was up to me to move forward and live out Asuna's dream for her. To do that, I had to look after my students; especially those with a past like Tomohiro's or like Xiao's.

Glancing off in the direction they'd gone, I quickly spotted the two. They were sitting together on a bench, with Tomohiro leaning on Xiao. He appeared to be fast asleep and I was a bit shocked that she was allowing him to do something like that. Those two had really changed each other, whether they noticed it or not.

I smiled a little to myself at the sight. Suddenly, Xiao jumped and pushed Tomohiro off the side of the bench. It was impossible to suppress a laugh.

“What's so funny, Katashi?” the twins asked me.

“Maybe they haven't changed quite as much as I thought,” I said quietly to myself, ignoring my siblings' question. “They're quite a pair. You would have loved them, Asuna.”


	9. Tomohiro's Wish

_(Tomohiro's POV)_

A few weeks passed by, but I just couldn't get that day off my mind. Shiro had been with that girl who'd sacrificed her own life to save mine. He'd really cared for her and if it hadn't been for me, she would have escaped. It wasn't until he'd yelled at me that I realized that I wasn't the only who thought I should have died. It was a sad fact, but everything he'd said was true.

_Ryosuke... I wish you were here..._

As I walked home, my thoughts made my mood worse and worse. “Alright, what's with the face?” Xiao asked from beside me. As usual, we were walking home after school. But for the first time in a long time, we'd walked the whole way in complete silence.

“What face?”

“I know you better than anyone, Tomohiro,” she asked in her usual emotionless voice. When I didn't answer her, she stopped and grabbed my arm, forcing me to face her. “What's wrong?”

“Are you asking because you're worried or because you're supposed to ask?” Xiao's answer was merely her 'are-you-really-asking-me such-an-obvious-question' look. She wasn't the type to worry about anything, so the chance of her actually caring... let's just say it wasn't even possible. “Of course...”

I started to turn away, but she only pulled me back again. “So what's the matter?”

She wasn't going to let this go. I just sighed. It would be better to just give in. Xiao can be annoyingly stubborn when she wants to be, and this was beginning to look like one of those times. “I was just thinking about what Shiro said...”

“Forget that kid already,” she scolded, not even letting me finish what I was saying. “You're just torturing yourself.”

I ignored her comment and continued speaking. “Then that made me think of Ryosuke.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Why does everyone-” Sure, we were close, but why did everyone think the two of us... No, don't start thinking that. I shot her an angry glare. “He was just a friend; my best friend.”

“He died in that place, didn't he?”

At the mention of the school, I couldn't help but flinch. “Yeah... He was the first of us...” I shuddered as the memory of that day replayed in my mind. That was something no one should ever have to go through. Not even Shimada deserved something that bad. “His leg got cut off because of a trap and-”

Once again, Xiao interrupted me. “Bled to death?”

“That sounds pretty harsh, even from someone like you,” a familiar voice said from behind us. That voice we'd know anywhere: our teacher, Mr Tanashisu.

The two of us stopped and waited for him to catch up with us. “Is that supposed to be an insult?” Xiao asked, pretending to be hurt by his words.

Tanashisu merely smiled and crossed his arms. “I would never insult my students,” he said in a calm, but playful tone. “My friends, however, are another story.”

“So what does that make me?” Watching the two, you could tell that Xiao and Tanashisu were close; their relationship resembling more of a friendly one rather than a teacher-student one. Even if she could be a real pain in the ass, he felt she was worth the trouble it would take to get along with her. That was something I would probably never understand.

“My worst nightmare,” Tanashisu laughed.

Xiao merely smirked. “Because I'm an evil genius?”

“Evil? Not really. Genius? Not even close.”

“Hey!”

“Tanashisu?” I asked quietly, pulling his attention away from the playful argument between him and Xiao.

Instantly, he turned back into the serious Tanashisu that I had seen many times. “What is it Tomohiro?”

My mind was still troubled and hoped that maybe he might be able to help. “When we talked before... you know, the first day of the trip... you said you knew someone who might be able to help me. Just what did you mean?” I'd been meaning to ask for awhile now, but until today, I hadn't had the nerve to say anything.

“Actually, that was the reason I wanted to talk with you.” Our teacher glanced down at me, looking like he couldn't decide if he should be happy or worried. “That is, if it's not that troublesome dream of yours that you're talking about.”

As strange as that dream had been, I'd actually managed to forget about it. “Can that friend of yours really help?”

“Okay, I think I've missed something here. Anyone care to explain?”

He ignored Xiao's question and continued. “She believes that she might have found a way to fix everything.”

“That's great!” A chance to fix everything... Nothing could possibly be better. But every rose has its thorns... Just what was the catch? “But how could we possibly fix this?”

“Hey! What am I invisible or something?”

“There's just one problem,” Tanashisu admitted, looking directly at me. “For it to work, you need all the survivors of your group, but you were the only one to escape.”

“So I just have to do it on my own then.” That way the only one who stood a chance of getting hurt would be me. It's what would be best, right?

Tanashisu only shook his head. “There has to be at least two.” And there's the difficult part... finding another person to help me when no one believed anything I'd ever said about Heavenly Host. Why must fate be so cruel? “The only way that you could use anyone else is if you convince that set of survivors to assist you.”

“But if I can pull it off, it will fix everything?”

“Maybe.” His words weren't much help in the way of reassuring me. “There hasn't been any chance to test it, so we can't be sure. It's quite possible that you might get killed in the process.”

No one spoke. There was a chance to get Ryosuke back, but it would be risky. Would it really be worth taking the chance? Not only would my own life be in danger, but I'd have to risk someone else's as well.

“So Tomohiro, what is it that you wish to do?” my teacher asked. Once the choice was made, there would be no going back.

“I want to do it,” I declared after giving it some thought. It would be worth putting my life in danger once more if it meant there was a chance that I could bring my best friend back. “If I die, then it's alright. That's what should have happened anyway.”

“Hello?” Xiao chimed in, reminding us that she was there and confused as hell. She knew nothing about the talk I'd had with Tanashisu that night. “Will someone explain what the hell it is that you're talking about?”

“I'm going to fix what happened in Heavenly Host.”

The next words out of her mouth were not ones I thought I'd hear from her. “Then I'm going to help you,” Xiao stated in her usual calm voice. I shot her a questioning glance. “You can't do it alone, right? Then as a fellow lone survivor, I'm the only one who can help you.”

“You're not the only one...” She might be the only one crazy enough to  _want_ to go back to Heavenly Host, but she definitely wasn't the only survivor.

“Well Tanashisu's not going to help you and he'll never allow the twins to do it,” “As far as we know, there aren't any others.”

“But why would you even want to help?” There was absolutely no reason for her to want to help. “It's not like you actually care about any of them.”

“Xiao feels sorry about the way she treated Sumiko,” Tanashisu answered for her. “Even if she won't admit it, she has feelings like every other human.”

“No,” she argued. I wasn't surprised that she denied it. It would have been a miracle if she hadn't. Of course, the reason she gave was one I never thought I'd hear from her. “I just want to see Little Brother again.”


	10. The Occultist Woman

_(Tomohiro's POV)_

When Xiao and I entered the little shop owned by Tanashisu's friend, I didn't really know what to think. Okay, the name of the shop should have given away the fact that it wasn't anywhere near normal, but most people would think that naming a shop “Box of Curses” would be just some sort of joke. You wouldn't actually expect to find cursed junk in here.

It seemed like something out of a fantasy movie. All sorts of weird little things were scattered about the place. Everything creepy from dead things in jars all the way to books that supposedly contained all kinds of curses and spells. Though I doubted any of this actually worked.

“This place is creepier than Heavenly Host,” I heard Xiao mutter beside me. Her words had echoed my own thoughts about this place. Although, of the two, I'd say this was safer.

We approached the counter and waited a moment. As we waited, I noticed a little bell sitting on the counter with a not next to it.  _Touch this and you'll be cursed,_ it read. I turned away and looked to a doorway covered by a beaded curtain. Still, no one came.

I sighed and looked over at Xiao, whose hand was right over the cursed bell. “Don't-” I tried to stop her, but I was too late. “-touch that...” She rang the bell and as I was about to scold her, a woman came out from the back room.

“Welcome, little ones,” she said, her voice reminding me of your stereotypical video game villain. She looked like a sorceress from a fantasy game too. “You must be Katashi's darling little students. Tomohiro Ohkawa and Xiao Seramura, yes?” And apparently sounds like one too...

I wasn't sure if I should have been creeped out or not about the fact that she knew who we were. “Tanashisu said you had a way to fix what happened in Heavenly Host?”

The woman smiled. “My name is Mirina Suzushima. But if you wish, you may call me Miri.” “And you are correct; I do believe I have found a way.”

“How does-”

“Is that bell really cursed?” Xiao interrupted me. Was she just now reading the note next to it?

Miri glanced down at the bell on the counter and scowled. “Sheba's been playing her tricks again... dirty little rat...” Ripping the note off of the counter, she looked over on a shelf in the corner. “Sheba! You come over here now!”

When I looked over there, I saw nothing. Then I noticed just the tiniest movement, almost like a mouse. Miri had called this Sheba person a dirty rat, maybe that wasn't just some insult. Sure enough, a small rat came scurrying over and sat down right in front of the occultist woman.

“You and Nibby are up to your little tricks again, aren't you?” Miri scolded the little animal as a little part of the counter moved. Wait, the counter moved? Looking closer, it was a small lump on the counter that had moved. “Don't you be trying to hide on me, Nibby!”

The lump on the counter changed colors, revealing it to be a lizard. Now that I thought about it, I'd heard of something like that before. What were they called... oh yeah, a chameleon. Strange that someone would have it as a pet. Especially one with such a weird name.

“Now, you were saying, children?” Miri changed the subject so quickly that I had to think about it before I could even remember why Xiao and I were here.

“Heavenly Host?”

“Ah, yes.” Miri turned around and pulled out some things from the shelves and cabinets behind her. A few little bottles containing strange colored powders and liquids, as well as a paper doll identical to the one we'd used to get to that cursed school the first time. “You're sure you want to go through with it?”

I nodded. “As the only one to survive, I owe it to them to try.”

She turned to Xiao. “You're not from his group?”

“I'm the only survivor of my group and the only one who can make sure this guy doesn't get himself killed,” she laughed. I didn't get what what was funny about that.

Miri thought a moment before speaking again. “Did you meet in Heavenly Host?”

I shook my head. “We met after.”

“I did meet one of the people from his group though,” Xiao added. “Guy was crazy. Tried to kill me because I was talking to a ghost.”

“Xiao, don't go around telling people you talk to ghosts...” I mumbled, almost tempted to hit her. But she was a girl, so that was off limits. “But you're right about Kizami being crazy.”

Miri looked troubled. Did that mean there was a problem? She sighed and began speaking. “It's tricky if you're not from the same group or didn't meet in Heavenly Host.” I wanted to ask, but I just let her continue. “Unless the two of you share a strong bond, chances are it may not work. Or if it works, you might lose your memories. You're really willing to take that risk?”

I looked over at Xiao. She smirked at me. No doubt, she was brave enough to take a chance on this. Now it was up to me. My mind was made up on this long ago, no way was it going to change now. “We have to do this.”


	11. The Silver Scraps

_(Xiao's POV)_

I hadn't really believed that it was even possible to change what had happened. But if trying this would give me the chance to see Little Brother again, I guess it would be worth it. Okay, maybe I'm doing this for Tomohiro too... after all, he's put us with me for this long. Guess this must be why fate brought the two of us together.

Miri looked at Tomohiro as she began to explain things. “It's fairly simple, but if you fail, you're dead.”

Tomohiro's hand tightened into a fist at the thought of it. Even I felt a little uneasy about the whole thing. There would be no second chances for this. Since it was out of Miri's sight, I reached over and gave my dear friend's hand a reassuring squeeze. “We won't fail,” I said, trying to sound like I wasn't even the tiniest bit worried.

Miri smiled and continued on. “I assume you remember how you got there the first time, yes?” We both nodded. “Then you'll find this very familiar. You'll do the same ritual with just the two of you, but you have to purposely fail, meaning you'll say the phrase two times. No more, no less.”

That confused me. “How is that supposed to be any different?” I asked somewhat rudely. But Miri only smiled.

“Because of this.” She held up a paper doll just like the one that Sumiko and I had used. No, not quite like that... Something was clearly different about this one. The obvious thing was that it was silver. But there was something else too, something that you couldn't see. A strange sort of energy seemed to be radiating from it. “When you do the ritual with this, you'll be taken back to before you did the charm the first time.”

“Then we could just stop them from doing the stupid thing in the first place!” I pointed out. Surprisingly, Tomohiro nodded, agreeing with me. “What's so dangerous about that?”

Miri shook her head, trying to explain that it wasn't that easy. “You have to do the ritual again and enter Heavenly Host.” She looked directly at me. “If  _you_ had been part of his group the first time, it may have been that simple. But you're not, so it won't work like that.”

I wanted to argue that, but one look from Tomohiro told me that I'd better keep my mouth shut or she might change her mind about all this. “Once you're back in Heavenly Host, all you have to do is change the fate of the first to die.”

The first to die... that had been Tomohiro's friend... What was his name? Right, Ryosuke something... Now that I thought about it, I'd never heard Tomohiro mention his last name. Not that it was really important.

“The scraps that the two of you possess would then be silver like this doll. They'll ensure your safety and make sure you get back here, so long as you don't drop them anywhere. Also, the ghosts there will not be able to touch them, which means you'll have some protection.” Miri continued on. “If the three of you join your scraps together, it should work.”

Her words gave me an idea. “What if one of us gave our silver scrap to one of the others?”

She thought a moment before answering. “Then it would still function the same way. But that person would have to take your place in joining the three together.”

“And if it were to be given to the first to die?”

Miri was quiet again, thinking everything out. “Then it would only be necessary for the two silver scraps to be joined.” Before I could come up with any more questions, she stopped me by giving us a warning. “However, there's a high chance that the only ones who'll have any memory of Heavenly Host will be the two who use the silver scraps. Though that is merely a theory, so I cannot say for sure.”

 

_(Tomohiro's POV)_

I didn't understand why Xiao would ask about what happens if she were to give her scrap to someone else. She wouldn't actually... would she? No, that's insane. Xiao wasn't that kind of person. But why would she... no, not even going to think about it.

After Miri had finished explaining, Xiao asked her something that I couldn't hear and the two wandered off into another room. Moments later, Miri came out alone. She said that Xiao had something to do before all this. Not wanting to question it, I sat and waited.

When Xiao returned, I didn't bother to ask why she'd left. It's not like she'd really tell me anyway. Instead, I just prepared myself for what would happen next. “Are you ready?”

She gave me a smirk as an answer. “Are you?”

“Ready as I'll ever be...”

“Then let's do this.”


	12. Tomohiro's Friends

_(Xiao's POV)_

When I opened my eyes, I had no clue where I was. This was a school, but it wasn't Heavenly Host. I wanted to ask Tomohiro if he knew, but he wasn't there when I turned around. Only a few students wearing strange uniforms.

That's when I remembered the woman's words. This must be near where Tomohiro and his friends had performed the charm. Tomohiro would be back exactly where he'd been then; all I had to do was find him. To do that, I had to remember the place he'd told me.

Stopping a random girl, I asked for directions. “Sorry, but I'm kind of new here,” I lied, putting up a happy, bubbly kind of personality. Normally I hated those types of people, but right now it was the best chance I had to find out where I had to go, considering that my usual personality tended to keep people away. “Could you help me find the Student Council room?” That was the only place I could remember him mentioning, so I hoped that was it.

If I knew his friend's names, I could have asked if they knew where I could find them. But the only name I knew was Ryosuke, which wouldn't be any help if there was more than one Ryosuke here. It never even occurred to me that I could have simply asked about Tomohiro.

After finally arriving at the door to the room, I decided I'd try to keep up the bubbly personality. I didn't know any of these people, so the bubbly personality would be better that my usual one. Not to mention it would be hilarious. That is, as long as Tomohiro didn't give it away.

Opening the door, I spotted him right away. Immediately I put a fake, overly cheerful grin and ran up to him, leaping onto him from behind. “Tomo-chan!”

“Wah!” As expected, Tomohiro was shocked. In fact, I wasn't even sure he knew it was me. “Xiao?”

“Hey Tomo-chan,” I sang, adding in a fake giggle as I held tightly onto him from behind. “You're so mean, leaving me all alone like that!”

“Xiao! W-what are you doing?” I was nuzzling my face against his cheek, seeing just far I could go with this before he freaked out. At this point, it didn't look like it would take long.

“Aww... Aren't you-” I stopped abruptly and my fake personality instantly jumped back to my real one. “Tomohiro, why is your face all red?”

In fact, he almost looked like a tomato. Almost. “Well... you're kind of acting all... not like you normally do...” he trailed off and looked away from me.

“Ugh! You and your dirty mind!” I half shouted, pushing him over.

After that, he snapped back to the Tomohiro I knew best. The one that wasn't afraid to argue with me or call me a pain in the ass or cheer me up when my emotions got the best of me. It was almost a relief to see him being normal. “I do not have a dirty mind! You try having a girl randomly jump on you and not react to it...”

“First of all I'm not into girls. Hell, I don't even have any interest in guys. You know that. Second, if someone randomly jumped on me, I'd kick their ass.” I smirked as I remember some of the time I'd spent with him. “I think you know that from experience.”

Once again, he got defensive. “I have never done anything like that!”

“Yes you did. You tried to push me out of bed when you were trying to wake me up.”

“That is not the same thing.”

“Hey Ohkawa, is she your girlfriend?” said a girl with a ponytail, reminding me that the two of us weren't alone. She was a pretty girl who seemed nice enough. Something in my head told me that she was called To-something. Tomoko... no... Tokiko? No... Oh whatever. Not important.

I couldn't help but smirk. The idea of me being anything but a friend to anyone was ridiculous. Actually, me being even a friend to someone seemed pretty crazy. “He wishes.”

“I do not,” Tomohiro said a little harshly. He crossed his arms over his chest a scowled at me. Apparently he hadn't thought my joke was funny. “Who would want a pain in the ass like you for- Ow!”

I'd cut him off by punching him in the shoulder. Quite hard too. “I may be a pain in the ass, but I'm your pain in the ass. Tanashisu's exact words.” I flashed a playful grin before mocking his previous actions of crossing his arms and scowling.

Tomohiro gave me a death glare. “He did not say that.”

“He meant it.”

Once more, he scowled and got defensive. “He meant that we should stick together because of everything that happened. Tanashisu didn't mean I had to deal with you being a pain in the ass.”

“That is exactly what he meant. No one knows me better than Tanashisu.”

Before our little banter could get any further, a red haired boy interrupted. “Who the hell is this girl?”

I'd actually forgotten that none of them had even the slightest idea who I was. “Xiao Seramura, friend and classmate of Tomohiro.” As I smiled, I didn't bother to think that they might know that was actually wrong. “And I'm guessing you're the friends he's told me so much about.”

“Classmate?” said one of the boys, though I couldn't tell which one. Not that it matter who anyways. The fact that I'd slipped up, however, could have been a problem. “I don't think so. We're all classmates and we've never heard of you.”

That was when a blonde boy jumped in, adding to other one's accusation. “And I'm closer to him than anyone and he's never even mentioned you.”


	13. Going Back

_(Xiao's POV)_

Neither of us thought that I'd screw up so quickly. Luckily, Tomohiro was able to cover for me. “She just transferred here and I never mentioned her because I knew you guys would just make fun of me.”

As I noticed the words he'd chosen, I took the opportunity to pick on him. “So you're a total wuss with them too?”

“I'm not a wuss!” Tomohiro argued. His friends around us looked at him a little surprised. Had they never seen him get annoyed before? I found that hard to believe. But then again, it may have just been something that only certain types of people could

The voice that spoke next was one that I didn't know. “Yes, you are.” It was a red haired boy that was a little taller than Tomohiro. Something about him gave off a bully vibe. Not that I cared. No one's stupid enough to mess with me.

But something about Red-Head shut Tomohiro up. If I had to guess, there some sort of a history there. “So you'll accept it if Red-Head over there says it but when I say anything, you argue with me on it?” I said to Tomohiro, seeing if I could I could provoke him into arguing it one more time. But Tomohiro didn't dare fight it. Was Red-Head scarier than me or something? As I thought it, I swore I heard him mumbling it. “Seriously? I knew you were a wuss, but I didn't think you were that much of one.”

My friend frowned, clearly irritated by my comment. “At least I'm not the one who talks to dead people...” Tomohiro mumbled, really pissing me off. As a response to his comment, I twisted his arm behind his back. “Ow!”

“Don't you  _ever_ talk about Little Brother like that again or I really will hurt you!” I hissed angrily at him. Anyone could insult me all they wanted, but you say one wrong word about the people I care about... let's just say you better start preparing your last words.

“Okay, okay! I'm sorry!” he cried out, struggling to get away from me. As he struggled, I waited until I was sure that he really was sorry before releasing him. “Maybe you're scarier after all...”

As Tomohiro stood there rubbing his arm with a scowl on his face, one of the girls stepped in. “You sure she's not your girlfriend?”

Another of the girls, clearly a friend of the other one, then spoke up. “The two of you  _do_ look very close,” said the second girl.

Once more, I couldn't resist an opportunity to pick on my dear friend. “Only in his perverted dreams.” Not even a second passed before he reacted.

“I don't have sex dreams!” said Tomohiro, sounding a little too defensive.

Once again, there was an opportunity to tease the boy. “I only said they were perverted; I didn't say they were sex dreams,” I teased with a devilish smirk.

Tomohiro's face tinted pink from embarrassment. “You meant it! I don't have any dreams like that, and definitely not about you!”

“That is definitely a lie. I've heard you moaning and talking in your sleep. Very creepy.” I shuddered at the memory of the one time I'd heard him. “Especially since you were drooling too.”

Tomohiro's face now looked like a tomato. He was just too much fun to embarrass. “I-I never did that.”

“Yes you did.”

“When?”

“After we ran into the twins and the boy twin got all pissed off about what happened to his friend being all your fault-”

“Don't remind me...” he groaned.

“-and you fell asleep on my shoulder. You looked so peaceful that I let you be. Well, until you started with the moaning and talking and drooling... Then I pushed you off the bench.”

A blonde boy gave Tomohiro a stunned look. “Why didn't you tell me about any of this, Tomohiro?”

“Because it wasn't important.” Apparently those two were close. Maybe that was the guy he'd told me about. “Anyway, Xiao, these are my friends and classmates. Kensuke Kurosaki, Masato Fukuroi, Mitsuki Yamamoto, Emi Urabe, Tohko Kirisaki, Kai Shimada, Yuuya Kizami, and then Ryosuke Katayama.” As he said each name, Tomohiro pointed at each person.

“So the blondie is that little boyfriend you talk about all the time?”

“He's not my boyfriend,” Tomohiro grumbled and I swore I heard one of the girls giggle. Or maybe one of the boys had an extremely girly laugh. “I like girls, not guys.”

“Why does everyone think we're a couple? Is it really that hard to tell we're into girls and not each other?”

“Someone sounds a little defensive,” I sang, smiling evilly. “You sure you aren't secretly into him?”

“Xiao, let Ryosuke be.”

The harshness of the tone he used caught me off guard. It was rare for Tomohiro to talk to me like that. For just a moment, the sarcastic and smartass tone of my voice completely vanished. “I was only messing with him. At least he actually spoke the first time I tried talking with him.”

“Maybe I didn't want to talk to you.”

“You sure looked happy that I actually attempted talking to you.”

Tomohiro sighed in defeat. He had been happy when we first spoke. There was no denying it. But then again, that was before he'd gotten to know me. “You really are a pain in the ass.”

“And yet you still put up with me.”

 

_(Tomohiro's POV)_

“Xiao?” She was silently staring at something. Or rather, someone. “What's with you? You're never this quiet.” Actually, she was hardly ever quiet when she had a chance to embarrass me.

Her eyes didn't leave the person she now stared at. “I've seen you before.” As I looked over, I instantly recognized what she was staring at. It was a face I'd never forget.

“That's Kizami. I told you about him. We'll talk about it later, alright?”

“Kizami... oh!” Xiao's eyes lit up as she realized where she'd met him. I hoped that she wouldn't mention Heavenly Host or the fact that Kizami was insane. That would cause more trouble than Xiao's slip-up earlier. “He's that guy who tried to...” She trailed off a little before muttering. “Damned sociopath.”

“Xiao!” I scolded and I swear I saw her flinch a little.

“What? I'm just stating a fact.”

 

When it finally came time for us to do that cursed charm, I didn't feel nervous like I'd thought I would. Maybe after having spent so much time around Xiao, I'd changed without noticing it. But Xiao's reaction was different than mine.

As everyone reached out to grab their part of the little paper doll, she hesitated. Was she afraid? It only made sense, as she once told me that she'd been inches away from death when she'd escaped. But for Xiao to be afraid... the idea was unthinkable.

In an attempt to help her find her courage, I took her right hand in my left and gave it a gentle squeeze. When her eyes shifted up towards mine, I tried my best to give what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “I can't wait to meet your little brother later,” I told her, giving both of us the strength we'd need to make it through this.


	14. Xiao's Plan

_(Xiao's POV)_

When I'd escaped the first time, I hoped that I would never see this place again. But here I was, back in Heavenly Host. Though this time, I was lucky enough to have someone by my side. Okay, maybe the first time I'd had Sumiko, but she was gone shortly after we'd woken up there.

“Hey, Ryosuke,” I called over to the blonde boy laying on the ground next to me. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he groaned as he sat up slowly. “How about you?”

“Come on.” I stood up, not even answering his question. Whether I was okay or not really didn't matter right now. Ryosuke was the one that had to be kept safe. “We have to find Tomohiro.”

 

After some time of searching, my mind began to wonder what would happen to us this time. We'd found no sign of Tomohiro. No sign of anyone, really. No one alive at least. “Ryosuke?”

We stopped walking and he turned to face me. “Yeah?”

What Miri had told me before replayed in my head. There was something I needed to do. “I want you to trade your paper scrap with mine.”

“Why?”

“It'll be better this way. Just trust me.” If what she had said was true, giving him my scrap would ensure his safety. Even if it might cost me my memories of the time I'd spent with Tomohiro, I had to do this for him. After all, I'd come here to help him. “I'm doing this for Tomohiro.”

The two of us continued walking and talking. “You really care for him, don't you?”

Ryosuke's question sounded so strange to me, though I knew it was only a normal question. In fact, many others had wondered about the same thing. But the answer to that would always be the same. “He's a friend; the only one I have, actually. If you didn't know, I'm not the best when it comes to people.”

“Just a friend, huh?” Ryosuke sighed. What was he expecting? That I would confess my undying love? No way in hell would something like that ever happen. “You really don't see him as anything more than that?”

“Why would I?” I said with a laugh. Tomohiro was my friend, end of story. Nothing more, maybe even something less.

“You make a weird pair, but you work.” Ryosuke looked over at as we came to a gap in the floor. “I never expected Tomohiro to go for the Tsundere type, but he seems to really like you.”

I glanced about, seeing a board just long enough to bridge the gap. With his help, we managed to lift it. “What's a Tsundere?”

 

Several more hours seemed to pass and there was still no sign of Tomohiro. Despite the calm outside, I was beginning to feel uneasy. The longer we were in here, the more likely it would be that one of us might get killed.

Trying to shake that thought away, I remembered what I'd done with Miri earlier. “Ryosuke, I want you to do something for me.”

Rysouske stopped walking. “What?”

“If the worst should happen, I need you to give this to Tomohiro.” Around my neck was a silvery chain with a large flower pendant. Now as I'm sure you know, I'm not the type to have anything remotely girly. But I'd borrowed this from Miri for one special purpose.

“A necklace?”

“It's a flashdrive.” I pushed the small switch on the back that revealed the part that stored the data. Not wanting it to get damaged, I returned it to the way it was and held it out to Ryosuke. “On it is something that Tomohiro should see.”

“Just what do you mean by 'if the worst should happen?' You don't actually think you might die in here before I would, do you?” The way he spoke made it sound like he was trying to make sure I stayed alive. That was backwards. I'd be fine in here, so I was the one who had to look out for him. After all, he was the reason Tomohiro and I were doing this.

“Tomohiro could explain it a lot better, but I guess you deserve to know.” With a sigh, I began to explain the real reason I was here. “I'm not actually a student at your school. The reason none of you knew me is because Tomohiro didn't meet me until after he got out of this place. At that time you and all the others were dead. Tomohiro barely escaped and would have died if someone else in here hadn't died trying to save him and two little kids.”

Ryosuke stared at me like I was crazy. Of course, I probably would think I was crazy if I hadn't lived through it. “You lost me...”

I ignored Ryosuke and just continued on. “After he got out of here, Tomohiro... well, he didn't take it very well and everyone else thought he was crazy and unstable. I heard rumors about him and a haunted school and from there we just... well, we grew close. But he still missed you and the others.”

“Then when we heard of someone who could help, we met with her. We did a special charm that brought the two of us to where you and I met today. The scraps from the lady's charm are guaranteed to protect you. As long as you don't drop it, you can't die. That's why I gave mine to you. When that one is joined with the one Tomohiro has, the two of you will get out of this place.”

I stopped there and gave him some time to process everything. “What about you? Why would you give up that to let me escape?”

“The lady told us if we changed the fate of the first to die, it would change the fate of everyone else too. You were the first to die the first time.” Giving him a faked smile, I tried my best to convince him that I knew what I was doing.“I got out safely the first time, thanks to Little Brother. If you two escape and I miss that chance, I still have a chance of getting out with his help.”

“Who's Little Brother?”

“He's a ghost who thought I was his older sister when we first met.” There was actually no way of knowing if Little Brother would recognize me or not this time. Obviously Ryosuke couldn't know about that. “Apparently I looked just like she did and sang the same song. But his sister would be a lot older by now and I don't actually have any siblings.”

“So a ghost who thinks you're his sister? That sounds creepy.”

I wanted to laugh at that. It wasn't the first time someone had thought the relationship with Ryu and I was creepy. But right now was no time to be laughing, not when we still had to find Tomohiro. “Ryou has been very protective of me. He even saved me from Kizami once and later from Sachiko. So it really was good in the end, since-”

Ryosuke was confused when my sentence stopped suddenly. But a figure behind him had caught my attention. “What? Why did you stop?”

“That,” I pointed over at the child ghost, “is little brother.”


End file.
